On behalf of the Board of Directors of ACHENJ, it is with great pleasure that we congratulate Rakel Barrientos on being selected as the 2020 ACHENJ Scholarship Recipient. Rakel is currently an MHA Graduate Student at Rutgers University. At this time, Rakel is employed by New York Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital as an administrative resident in the quality management department.
In her first year of graduate school, she competed in the Healthcare Planning & Marketing Society of New Jersey Case Study Competition, where she and her teammates developed interventions addressing a hospital’s community health needs assessment (CHNA) and social determinants of health (SDOH). As representatives of Rutgers, they received first place. At the Bloustein School, Rakel received her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification and currently serves as the Vice President of Rutgers Graduate Society of Healthcare Leaders.
Rakel graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 2018 where she received a B.S. in Health & Society and a B.A. in Psychology while competing as a Division I NCAA Student Athlete in Cross Country and Track. In 2019, she completed a certificate in Dispute Resolution and Conflict Resolution to enhance her career path in healthcare.
